Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Mar 23: Relating to the incident in which Dilip T D, a jeweller from Thrissur in Kerala was followed by a gang when he was travelling to Udupi from Hiriyadka on March 17, and was made to alight near Downtown Bar at Manipal after which he was threatened at gunpoint, kidnapped in a car, and dropped off at Nandikoor after robbing him of about 1.5 kg of gold ornaments and cash amounting to Rs 2,57,200, a gang of seven has been arrested, gold ornaments weighing 867 grams worth Rs 24 lac and Rs 60,000 in cash have been seized, and two cars have been confiscated, said district superintendent of police (SP), K T Balakrishna.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday March 22, the SP stated that on the basis of the said complaint, a case under different sections of Indian Penal Code and Arms Act was registered in Hiriyadka police station. "During the questioning, Dilip gave the information that he has been running the business of bringing gold ornaments from Thrissur for sale to shops in Mangaluru, Moodbidri, Karkala, Udupi, Perdoor etc in exchange for cash. Considering the seriousness of the case, five teams were formed to nab the culprits and find out the robbed assets, he said.
"We now understand that several such gold merchants come to the district from Kerala to conduct sale of gold ornaments against cash. The investigating officer has asked the complainant and others to furnish documents to prove that the transactions with which they are involved are legal. Our team,which has arrested seven accused, is looking to take more people into custody," Balakrishna added. He gave the details of the cars confiscated as a Maruti Ritz and a Chevrolet Sail car.
The SP stated that the main accused, Harikrishna Bhat (25), a resident of Ugranibettu Harikhandige in the district, runs a shop named 'Gayatri Jewellers' at Perdoor. As Dilip also visited his shop for selling ornaments often, Harikrishna knew very well that Dilip was carrying ornaments and cash in bulk alone and executed. Sensing a chance to make quick bucks, he executed the said robbery with the help of his accomplices.
The other accused involved with this robbery are Muhammed Irfan alias Irfan (30), living at Hemmady in Kundapur taluk, Javed (25) from Kodavoor, Kola, Malpe, Ashraf (34) of Vinaya Nagara, near Belapu mosque, Ilahid alias Manzoor Ilahid (24), a resident of Santosh Nagar, Hemmady, Kundapur, Ravichandra N alias Ravi (41) living in Kergal, Kundapur taluk, and Sumant Kumar (24), a resident of Kirimanjeshwar in Kundapur taluk.
Among the accused, Irfan faces a few cases in Bhatkal, Ilahid faces charges in two cases, while Ravichandran is accused in eight cases.
The SP said that the pistol pointed at the complainant by one of the accused, Ilahid, to threaten him was a toy pistol which looks like real one.
When asked about discrepancy between the amount of stolen gold (1.5 kg) mentioned in the complaint and the amount of gold recovered (867 grams), the SP said, "The jeweller did not carry 1.5 kg of gold. He had no bills regarding the gold he was carrying and he just mentioned a random amount. It was only 867 grams, which we have recovered."
He also said that the stolen gold had been sold to various merchants and the first two accused kept Rs 5 lac for themselves and Rs 2 lac was distributed among others. However, only Rs 60,000 was recovered in cash.
The SP also urged gold merchants not to do transactions without proper billing and documents, adding that in some case, such merchants when duped do not even come forward to complain for fear of law.
The arrests and seizures were made under the directions of SP, K T Balakrishna, under the guidance of additional SP, N Vishnuvardhan, and deputy superintendent of police, S J Kumaraswamy, by DCIB police inspector, Sampat Kumar, Brahmavar circle police inspector, Srikant, Kaup police circle inspector, V S Halamurthy, Hiriyadka police sub-inspector, Vinayaka Billava, and Padubidri sub-inspector, Satish, with assistance from other staff, he explained.
The SP also said that in appreciation of this achievement, inspector general of police (western range), Harishekaran, has praised the team and announced cash reward.